### Source Article by The Athletic’s Anthony Slater – [“Donte DiVincenzo details his winding path from Bucks to Kings to Warriors”](https://theathletic.com/3653919/2022/10/05/donte-divincenzo-warriors-bucks-kings/)
*A good portion of this interview/article is Donte talking about his time with the Bucks (in the bubble, Jrue trade, almost being traded for Bogdan Bogdanovic, getting injured in the playoffs, coming back from injury, etc.) and also gets into more detail about his time with the Kings. I’ll just be including the Warriors-related stuff, but it’s a great read if you want to know more about Donte (paywall)*:
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### How Donte DiVincenzo Ended Up with the Warriors Instead of the Kings:
> “But I’d thought I found my home. Domas (Sabonis) and I were always together, talking about what we are going to build in the future. It was super fun. The guys were extremely cool.
> **DiVincenzo believed he was going back to the Kings.** They’d tried and failed to trade for him once and then circled back, giving up two second-round picks, to obtain him again. Sacramento held his restricted free agency rights.
> “I’m telling my girl that anything can happen in free agency, but be prepared to come back,” DiVincenzo said. “**Look for houses, look for this. I was full-in on the Kings. Obviously, they tested out how I’d fit in their system and just chose to go a different direction**. It’s the business. Maybe it seemed like my numbers didn’t show I was going to be completely healthy moving forward. But in my head, I knew I was going to have a full offseason and toward the end of the season, I was like, ‘Damn, I’m starting to feel really good.’
> A few days before free agency, the Kings rescinded his qualifying offer, pivoting toward a plan that was unknown to DiVincenzo at the time. Sacramento signed Malik Monk in free agency and traded for Kevin Huerter, filling his position.
> “Mixed emotions,” DiVincenzo said. “Now I’m unrestricted and I can pick where I want to go, but then you have the other side, like, ‘Damn, they didn’t want me? Do they still want me? Are they trying to do something with a cap hold or whatever?’ I didn’t understand all that stuff. But my mind was just open, spinning, hectic for a couple days.”
> Gary Payton II left the Warriors for Portland, getting more money than the Warriors were willing to give. That **left the Warriors scrambling for a backcourt replacement just as DiVincenzo was searching for a new home, willing to take a temporary bargain. His preferred playing style and the surrounding circumstances matched up perfectly**
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### Donte DiVincenzo on Getting His Ass Whooped by the Starters in Training Camp + How His Body is Feeling Good:
> DiVincenzo, boosted off a strong finish with the Kings, did have a normal offseason. That included regular pickup games at the Warriors’ facility during the month prior to camp, gaining some comfort with the young players — Jordan Poole, James Wiseman, Moses Moody — who he will share a second unit.
> “It’s been great,” he said. “We talked after the first day. Blue team (the starters) just kicked our ass. It’s tough. Obviously, the coaches were expecting more of me. In my mind, they’re expecting what they got in Milwaukee playing against them. So **in training camp, when it’s hard playing against five guys who won a championship together and know all the plays, I’m like, ‘Damn, this spacing against them is awful right now.’**”
> But…
> “But my body felt great,” he said. “**That was the main thing. My body feels really good. So then I check into the first preseason game and I’m quickly like, ‘Damn, this spacing is great. This is way better. I’m not going against the starting five of the Warriors.’** There were so many pockets to pass and driving lanes and cutting lanes. The first play I hit (Kevon Looney) in the pocket, I’m like, whew. Honestly, I was nervous. I didn’t know if the space would be there, might mess up. **But when I made the pocket pass, I could feel that I’m going to get back to being Donte.**”
>
### Donte DiVincenzo on His Relationship with Andre Igoudala + Loving that Andre Came Back:
> Andre Iguodala went out of his way to mention DiVincenzo in his first press conference of the season, saying, in part: [“I have this funny thing with White players. It’s like, ‘Yo, it ain’t too many of y’all that are really good.’ But he’s good.”](https://youtu.be/CmoH4RTwD0Y?t=1008)
> **DiVincenzo laughed when told of the quote.**
> “He was telling me that when he was in Miami,” DiVincenzo said. “‘I didn’t know if you were that good. But you can hoop.’ He told me he was thinking that then. But I used that connection to Jrue Holiday back when he was in Miami. That’s when I thought he was done when he was leaving Miami. I thought he was going to retire then.”
> Holiday and Iguodala played together in Philadelphia. DiVincenzo grew up near Philadelphia, loved those Sixers teams, went to Villanova, found Holiday as a mentor and is now focused on gathering all the wisdom he can from Iguodala.
> “I told him in the locker room before he made his announcement,” DiVincenzo said. “**Andre was in here a couple days and I told him, ‘Bro, I know it’s not going to mean much, but it’d mean the f—-ing world to me if you come back.’ I’m not one — I guess it’s a pride thing — to say stuff like that much. But I grew up watching him. Philadelphia. Andre is big-time to me**. To be able to form that relationship off the court and learn on the court, I’m going to be the biggest sponge.”
> **DiVincenzo, in a minimized way, will serve in the old Iguodala settle-the-second-unit-down role. Kerr clearly trusts him.** He brought the ball up some in the two Japan games despite being fresh to the environment.
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### Donte DiVincenzo on What He’s Learned so Far Early in His Tenure as a Warrior:
> **“The communication thing,” he said. “When you’re the vocal one, guys will follow. Draymond is contagious. He’s the engine on defense. He calls out everything**. Once he does that, you hear (Looney), you hear (Wiggins), you hear Steph (Curry), you hear everyone talking. Last night, when I was playing with the younger guys, I felt like if I lock in and communicate on defense, it’ll be contagious to them. That’s fun. Dudes want to do things that normally guys don’t like doing in the NBA.”
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### Donte DiVincenzo Learning the Power of the Warriors Brand:
> The Warriors experience is different in many ways. DiVincenzo won state titles in high school, a national title at Villanova and an NBA title with the Bucks. But the level of fame and interest that comes with the Warriors is another level. As he left the Starbucks in Tokyo to a crowd of fans, he was reminded of his new world.
> “I think the first time I realized it was different was when I walked off the plane with Draymond,” he said. “I’m walking and the fans stop Draymond for autographs. All of a sudden I’m walking behind him and I turn and all the fans were like ‘Donte!!’ I had no idea. I don’t want to put myself down. **But when you’re playing with Giannis or Jrue, Steph and Draymond, they’re big-time guys. So when you go places, you expect everyone to just see them and you just keep it moving. I’m next to Draymond and they’re also going crazy for me across the world. It was super cool. But it’s when it clicked, like, the Warriors brand is huge.”**
by NokCha_
2 Comments
Very cool, thanks for posting!
The branding thing is quite an interesting take. I would imagine the Lakers have similar issues with their rookies and roleplayers were people just know them by name, but become “nobodies” on different teams.